Amanda's story

I first learnt about professional placements while I was researching various universities. The ability to be part of a professional placement is what sets Swinburne apart from the others.

I decided to do a professional placement because I wanted to make the most of the opportunity whilst I was studying and I knew how competitive the job market is. Swinburne’s professional placement program would allow me to stand out from other applicants and gain real world experience within the cybersecurity industry.

I had the opportunity to be placed as an Identity and Access Management Engineer at Coles. My role involves incident management and troubleshooting security related events, supporting the Privileged Access Management system and contributing in the analysis and design of identity management solutions.

One of the highlights of this role is having the opportunity to protect critical systems, applications and data from unauthorised access while managing the identities and access rights of individuals within a well-known organisation. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to work on multiple projects, which seemed daunting at first, but it has given me the chance to work with various identity management software such as NetIQ and CyberArk.

Coles is such a collaborative and dynamic organisation that has given me instrumental knowledge and skills to thrive within a professional environment, I believe this will give me a competitive edge against candidates who have only completed a tertiary degree.

For now, I would like to obtain as much knowledge in my field as I possibly can. In the future, I would like to become an expert in my field and help guide others in need.

I would recommend students to undertake a professional placement as I feel it is something that every student needs to experience in order to prepare them for the working world. I went into my placement not knowing what to expect. It was a big adjustment for me to be working in a corporate environment, having worked in a retail environment. The lessons and skills you learn from undergoing a placement is an opportunity that not everyone will get and it’s something you will hold onto for the rest of your life.